


Summer Days

by This_is_not_my_Penname



Series: Royai Week 2018 [13]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Riza has chickens, Roy can't swim, Royai Week 2018, Young Royai, they're just friends right now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 17:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14938991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_is_not_my_Penname/pseuds/This_is_not_my_Penname
Summary: Written for Royai Week Day 5 Prompt: SummerSet in the "Rules and Regulations" universe, young Roy and Riza spend time at the local watering hole on a hot summer afternoon.





	Summer Days

Summer never seemed to come quickly enough for Riza Hawkeye. She missed the extra long days when the sun never seemed to set. She liked having time after she finished her chores to go out and lay in the soft grass of her backyard, and watch the clouds drift by. Summer was the only time her father let her spend time with the other children, since they were out of school for a few months. There was a… well, it wasn’t quite a lake, but it wasn’t a pond either, nearby.

And this summer was different. This summer, Riza Hawkeye had a  _ friend _ to take with her. Her father’s student, Roy Mustang. He had spent every moment of his time studying or sleeping or eating. But it was Summer time now. Surely her father would allow him a few days of respite from the doldrums of learning alchemy.

Riza raced through her morning chores, taking a few minutes to greet their chickens. Nicolas and Perenelle were doing well, as was Zosimos. A little ways off in the yard, Theo (short for Theophrastus) and  François were pecking at the grains Riza had thrown on the ground. She wished there were more female Alchemists in history, but all of the names her father had given her were from men. She loved her chickens. They were her best friends before Roy arrived.

She walked back to the house to start on breakfast, and was unsurprised to see Roy Mustang already in the kitchen. He had started trying to help her with her chores in order to spend more time with her.

“Mr. Mustang, what are you doing up so early?”

“I’ve told you before, Riza. It’s just Roy. Besides, I thought I’d help with breakfast. Is that alright?”

“I can do it myself,” she muttered. Secretly, she was glad to have his presence. It was always nice to have another set of hands helping with the meals, and it would most likely be just the two of them eating breakfast anyways. Father slept late in the mornings, and rarely ate during the rest of the day.

“But you like the company. How are the chickens?”

“They have names, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. All after famous alchemists. What an odd choice.”

“I thought father would like them better, that’s all.”

Roy shrugged, and Riza smiled at him. “Well, they looked like they were having fun with you, Miss Hawkeye.”

“They’re good girls. Even if they have boy names. It’s not my fault there aren’t any famous female Alchemists!”

“Well… Why don’t you try to become one?”

“Father says I don’t ‘possess the mental fortitude required’ or somethin’ like that. I could do it if he’d just let me look at the books.”

“I don’t doubt that in the slightest.”

They set to work on making breakfast, pancakes and fresh eggs. Riza was so excited, and absolutely nothing could dampen her spirits. She thought she saw Roy smiling at her a little more often as she danced around the room, working on cooking things. She had so many exciting things planned for the day.

“Is father going to make you do lessons today?” Riza asked once they finished breakfast. She was busy washing the dishes while Roy dried them and put them away.

“I don’t know. I’m hoping not. It’s been a while since I’ve had a break and I could use a little bit of relaxation time. Was there something you needed?”

“It’s just… it’s Summer. And usually I’m allowed to go out with the other kids and I don’t know if you’re interested but maybe you’d wanna go out to the… Well, it’s… Kind of a lake? A lot of the local kids like to go swimming there, since it’s finally getting warm an’ all… And you could come too.”

“Well, I’m not sure if he has anything planned, but if he doesn’t, that sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll see what your father has to say, and then we’ll see about going down this afternoon?”

“Yeah!” Riza was beaming. “It’d be nice to have you come down. I betcha everyone would love to meet you! You haven’t really talked to anyone in town, huh?”

“Not the kids, no.” Roy smiled. “You’ll have to introduce me to everyone, okay?”

“I can do that,” Riza replied easily, still so excited by the thought of the two of them spending the afternoon together with other children. She was bright-eyed the rest of the morning, as Roy went to ask her father for the day off from his studies.

***

That afternoon, Riza pulled on her bathing suit, covering it with a light sundress. Roy Mustang was sitting on the couch, waiting for her. He had on a t-shirt and some old-looking shorts.

“Ready?” she asked, rocking back and forth on her heels. Her excitement hadn’t dissipated at all.

“Lead the way, Miss Hawkeye.”

She practically pulled him out of the house, through the yard, and onto the well-worn dirt road that lead down to the local meeting place. As they got closer, they could hear the shouts and cheers of children as they walked. It took only a few minutes for Riza to drop his hand and race down the rest of the path, her whoops joining those of her friends.

It was only after she had already begun to greet everyone that she remembered Roy. She turned around, embarrassed smile on her face, and waved him over. He strode in with an awkward grin.

“This is Roy,” Riza began. “He’s studying Alchemy under my father.”

There were several excited ooo’s and ahhh’s about Roy’s abilities. Riza smiled. Having Roy come was a brilliant idea. Everyone would like her again. She would no longer be “Berthold Hawkeye’s weird daughter.”

“Hey! Show us some Alchemy!” One of the kids yelled.

“Oh yeah! Show us something cool, Roy!” Riza echoed, hope on her face.

She watched as Roy knelt, using a stick to draw a circle in the dirt. With a moment of concentration, he placed his hands on the edge of the circle, and from the dirt rose a little figurine of a bird. The kids clapped their hands in delight, and Riza joined them. Alchemy truly was amazing.

“C’mon Riza! Let’s go swimmin’!” One of the girls called, grabbing Riza’s hand and pulling her toward the swimming hole. Riza nodded, pausing only for a moment to pull her dress up and over her head. She let it fall to the dusty ground and ran into the still slightly chilly water. She shrieked for a moment, but then sank beneath it, letting it soak her hair and skin thoroughly. It was only when she came up that she noticed Roy staring at her.

“Well? What’re you waitin’ for! The water’s great!” She waved him over. Roy walked slowly, stooping to pick up her dress. He walked over to a nearby tree, and hung it over a low-hanging branch. Riza rolled her eyes as Roy walked to the edge of the pool, sitting down on a rock near the bank and dipped his feet into the water. Riza sighed.

“I think I’ll just watch for a bit,” Roy replied.

“Whatsamatter? Don’cha know how to swim?”

“Wh-what?! Of course I-I know how to swim I just… Well… The water’s…”

“The perfect temperature! It’ll feel sooo nice on the walk back.”

“A-and you look like you’re having so much fun--”

“I’d have more fun if you were in with us.”

She swore she saw his cheeks redden. “O-okay, I can’t a-actually swim.”

Riza stood up, showing that the water barely came to her waist. “I can teach ya. It’s not hard. Really. And you’ll have a lot more fun if you’re in here than if you’re sittin’ on that rock.”

She watched his face as he stared at the water. His brow was furrowed in concentration. It was the way he looked when he was planning a transmutation. Finally, he tugged off his shirt, and slid off the rock into the water. Riza smiled and splashed her way over to him.

“See? It’s not that bad, is it?”

Roy shook his head. “I… I still don’t know how to swim, Miss Hawkeye.”

“Riza. If I’m gonna call you Roy, you’re gonna call me Riza. Okay?”

“Alright, Riza.” She smiled, taking his hand and dragging him out into the water.

“So c’mon. Just… Take a deep breath and put your head under the water. Like this!” She took a deep breath and forced herself under the water for a moment. When she popped back up, she was surprised to see Roy also resurfacing, his hair dripping water. “Better?”

“A… A little,” Roy admitted. “But it’s still kinda scary, don’t you think?”

“It’s just a little water, Roy. Didn’t you take baths in Central?” She kicked away a little bit, and he was quick to follow her. She smiled and continued, smiled as his face grew more determined. When she moved faster, he increased his pace as well. It wasn’t long before they were swimming around in the water like two little fish. Roy began to laugh along with the other kids, joining in with their games.

They spent the afternoon swimming around, playing with the other kids, until the sun began to move toward the horizon. They all clambered out of the water, Riza going to pull her dress on over her still-wet bathing suit. Roy pulled his shirt back on as well, and the two of them walked back down the dirt road with the other children following their lead.

Roy and Riza stopped at the gate to Hawkeye Manor, bidding their friends goodbye. Riza slipped inside the fence, taking some of the chicken feed and scattering it on the ground, watching the birds come clucking and flapping over to her. She smiled, reaching down to ruffle their feathers.

“Thank you for coming today,” she murmured to Roy. The older boy was leaning against the fence.

“You’re very welcome. I haven’t had that much fun in ages. Sometime, you should come to Central with me, when I go to visit my Aunt. You’d love my sisters, and they’d get a real kick outta meeting you.”

“Maybe I will,” Riza replied. “Provided father approves of my visiting, of course.” Roy laughed at that. Riza laughed too. It was the beginning of a beautiful summer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
